Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn
のフュージョン！！ とベジータ|''Doragon Bōru Zetto Fukkatsu no Fyūjon!! Gokū to Bejīta|lit. Dragon Ball Z: The Rebirth of Fusion!! Goku and Vegeta}}, also known as Revival Fusion, is the fifteenth Dragon Ball film and the twelfth under the Dragon Ball Z banner. It originally released in Japan on March 4, 1995, and also had a limited theatrical run (as part of a double-feature with the U.S. premiere of Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler) on March 17, 2006. These were the first Dragon Ball-related movies to receive a theatrical release in the United States. Summary The movie starts with the Other World Tournament going on and Goku has defeated Froug while Pikkon defeated Arqua. At the Check-In Station, Saike Demon is guarding the Soul Cleansing Machine, but is distracted with his heavy metal music. His lack of attention allows the machine to become too full; as a result, the machine explodes, releasing all of the evil energy at once. The young ogre is enveloped in the evil smog and is transformed into a giant, seemingly innocent, monster of incredible power named Janemba. Janemba's first order of business is to place a barrier around the Check-in Station of Other World. This barrier prevents King Yemma from maintaining order between realms. With Yemma trapped, the souls of Other World are free to return to the land of the living. On Earth, Videl receives a message of distress and she and Gohan go take care of it. In Other World, Goku and Pikkon were fighting in the finals of the Other World Tournament, but then are called to go to King Yemma and see what is going on. When they arrive, King Yemma informed them that the monster that did all of this was on the roof of the check-in station. Both Goku and Pikkon are surprised by the tremendous size of Janemba. Goku is excited about his power and lures Janemba to Hell so that Pikkon can start working on the barrier. Once arriving in Hell, Goku is shocked to find it has been changed into a psychedelic, weird world filled with colorful stones. Pikkon attempts to break the barrier, and Goku begins fighting Janemba. On Earth, Frieza arrives shortly after Gohan and Videl get rid of a large group of zombies, and Frieza starts to taunt Gohan. Before they start fighting, Gohan introduces himself with a short speech and dance, saying "I am son of Goku, guardian of all that is good." Frieza confronts Gohan and Videl and immediately recognizes Gohan as Goku's son. Deciding the boy should pay for his father's "sins", Frieza sends his army of villains to attack the couple, but Gohan flies through them all and silences him by punching Frieza in the stomach and blowing the tyrant away with an energy shot to the gut. Frieza's terrified minions quickly disperse. Afterward, Gohan does his Justice Pose 1. Mr. Satan is winning over the zombies and happy that they are enemies that he can beat. Bulma and the others gather the Dragon Balls, and summon Shenron. They wish for all the souls to return to the underworld, but Shenron informs them that he can send them back, but there is nothing stopping them from coming back, and that something is wrong in Other World. In Other World, Pikkon discovers that cursing at the barrier causes it to break. Janemba uses its strange powers such as creating a portal to punch through that leads right to Goku and forming a perfect replica of Goku in his hand, complete with its own Kamehameha. Even as a Super Saiyan 2, Goku is losing until he then powers up to Super Saiyan 3 to defeat the monster. However, Janemba then transforms into a smaller, more powerful form. Back on Earth, Goten and Trunks battle The Dictator and his army and they both go Super Saiyan. Goku battles Super Janemba and is overwhelmed after being hit a Hell Gate. Super Janemba then makes a sword from an ogre club he finds on the ground and starts to easily beat Goku with a swing from his sword, creating a dangerously sharped blade of thin air. He then traps him in a triangular cage made from Blood Pond, and then cuts it down to fit Goku. Vegeta comes to help Goku and starts to fight Super Janemba in his Super Saiyan 2 form, but is no match for him. Vegeta was thrown into a cage of spikes, but Goku catches him in time and they both take cover into the cage of spikes. Goku knows they cannot win as separate entities, so he suggests using the fusion technique. Vegeta becomes skeptical, first off that the pose for the Fusion Dance is embarrassing, and furthermore tells him he would rather die than to fuse with a low-class Saiyan. But Goku calmly states that Vegeta is already dead. Goku persuades him to agree, and then they try the Fusion Dance. Vegeta agrees, however, he fails to extend his index finger at the last second, and Veku (as named by South Kai) is created. Veku is weak and can do little but fart on Super Janemba's face and use his Rabbit Feet Technique to run away. Right when Super Janemba is about to destroy him, the fusion runs out and Goku and Vegeta escape. Vegeta curses Goku, saying fusion is useless, but King Kai telepathically points out that it is Vegeta's fault because his index finger was made into a fist and created the blimp Veku. Pikkon then comes to fight Janemba to give Goku and Vegeta more time to perform the fusion. Pikkon figures that Janemba is made of the same material as the barrier and begins cursing at it. Surprisingly, it works, and the creature is caught completely by surprise. However, it is able to incapacitate Pikkon, although those precious few seconds allowed Goku and Vegeta to perform the Fusion Dance, which is successful, forming Gogeta. On Earth, Goten and Trunks sense their dads fusing, and also fuse to create Gotenks. Gogeta is formed, and he defeats Janemba with his ultimate attack: the Stardust Breaker. As a result, the teenage ogre returns. Scared by Gogeta, he runs away, and Gogeta lets out a giggle. Gotenks defeats The Dictator's army with the Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack in one shot. Gogeta defuses, Goku and Vegeta say farewell to each other as Vegeta returns to his spirit form. Hell is returned to normal, All of the souls return to Other World, and King Yemma is freed with lots work to do. On Earth, Gohan, Goten, Videl, and Trunks are returning home. Goten and Trunks know who it was that saved them, but refuse to tell anyone. (In the English version, Goten and Trunks were spying on them and joked about Gohan and Videl kissing and being chased home by a crossed Gohan and an embarrassed Videl.) Meanwhile, Shenron remains summoned and asks if anyone still wants to use their wishes, sounding impatient. Timeline placement The movie's events occur during the Majin Buu Saga, roughly before the Majin Buu conflict reaches its climax with the advent of Super Buu.Daizenshuu 6, 1995 When Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan 3, he says the fight with Majin Buu was the only time he had ever been pushed so far. This suggests that the Majin Buu Saga happens within this film's background. Innocent Buu is not seen anywhere, but if Kid Buu has been defeated, then both Goku and Vegeta should be alive again. This, along with the ability of Goten and Trunks to fuse as Super Saiyans, might suggest that Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn was set around episode 253, where Goten and Trunks successfully use the Fusion technique as Super Saiyans for the first time. Additionally, though Mr. Satan is not at Majin Buu's house in the movie, this is consistent with the fact that he left the Majin's house in episode 253 to get dog food for Bee. However, several other details don't align: Gohan is on Earth instead of the Sacred World of the Kai, Goku is in the Other World Tournament instead of with Gohan, and the Buu ordeal is clearly not ongoing either at Yemma's or on Earth. Also, Shenron offers three wishes in the movie, while in the main series timeline one wish had already been used after which the Dragon Balls were put in dormant mode for four months. It was only after the first wish was made that Goten and Trunks learned fusion, so at this time they should have been unable to summon Shenron. It is shown on Videl's watch that the movie takes place on a Saturday, the 16th, which is at least 9 days after the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament (which took place on May 7 of Age 774). In Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury it is shown that the Janemba event happens just after Goku arrives back in Other World, at the same time that Mr. Satan is befriending Innocent Buu. In Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, it is revealed that the events of this film take place in an different timeline from the main one, but Janemba still existed in the main timeline and lives in Hell. Releases Fusion Reborn was originally released on VHS and Laserdisc in Japan. In 2006, Toei Animation released Fusion Reborn as part of the final Dragon Box DVD set, which included all four Dragon Ball films and thirteen Dragon Ball Z films. These were presented in a new widescreen transfer from the original negatives with a 16:9 aspect ratio that was matted from the original 4:3 aspect ratio. Fusion Reborn premiered in North America on March 17, 2006 in a limited theatrical run with The Return of Cooler as a double feature. FUNimation released Fusion Reborn for DVD on March 28, 2006 in uncut form. As was the case with all previous releases, the movie was released in an unmatted 4:3 aspect ratio. The DVD featured an English dub with an original score done by Nathan Johnson and Dave Moran. FUNimation re-released Fusion Reborn and Wrath of the Dragon on DVD and Blu-ray on May 19, 2009 as part of their "Double Feature" line. This new set featured a brand-new widescreen transfer from Video Post & Transfer and a new audio mix for the English dub featuring the original Japanese score done by Shunsuke Kikuchi in addition to the old mix featuring the Johnson/Moran score. FUNimation repackaged the Double Feature DVDs into three new thinpak sets, the third of which was released on January 3, 2012 and included Broly - Second Coming, Bio-Broly, Fusion Reborn, and Wrath of the Dragon. These three sets were also released together in the Canada-only Dragon Ball Z: Complete Movie Collection featuring reversioned artwork of Goten and Trunks from Bio-Broly on the cover. Cast A second English version produced and released exclusively in Malaysia by Speedy features an unknown voice cast. Music *Opening Theme (OP): "We Gotta Power" *Ending Theme (ED): "Saikyō no Fusion" Battles *Goku vs. Froug *Pikkon vs. Arqua *Goku vs. Pikkon *Pikkon vs. Janemba (Janemba (Pre-Transformation)) *Goku (Base/Super Saiyan 2/Super Saiyan 3) vs. Janemba (Pre-Transformation)) *Gohan (Great Saiyaman) and Videl vs. Zombies *Gohan vs. Frieza (Final Form) *Mr. Satan vs. Zombies *Goten (Base/Super Saiyan) and Trunks (Base/Super Saiyan) vs. The Dictator and his army *Goku (Super Saiyan 3/Base) vs. Janemba (Super Janemba) *Vegeta (Super Saiyan 2) vs. Janemba (Super Janemba) *Goku and Vegeta vs. Janemba (Super Janemba) *Gogeta (Veku) vs. Janemba (Super Janemba) *Goku and Vegeta vs. Janemba (Super Janemba) *Pikkon vs. Janemba (Super Janemba) *Gogeta (Super Saiyan) vs. Janemba (Super Janemba) *Gotenks (Super Saiyan) vs. The Dictator and his army Reception Fusion Reborn was the third best selling Anime DVD of 2006. The movie was released in theaters in Japan on March 4, 1995 and was part of a double feature alongside Slam Dunk: Shohoku's Greatest Challenge! It grossed a total of ¥2.16 billion in Japan (US $24.7 million). Trivia *The English dub of Fusion Reborn is the only Dragon Ball Z film to be rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. It is rated PG for action violence, thematic elements, and rude humor. *There is a brief Michael Jackson reference at the beginning of the movie, when Saike Demon is dancing he simulates a moonwalk, stands on his tip toes, and grabs himself. *When Goku and Pikkon are being introduced in the tournament at the beginning of the movie, Goku is referred to as the defending champion, even though in the last Other World Tournament it was a draw due to them both touching the ceiling during the battle. However, during their original battle, Goku was briefly declared the winner of the first tournament before Grand Kai told them touching the ceiling disqualified them. *All swastikas (in the Dictator scenes) are removed from Funimation's DVD. Additionally, all "third reich" references are removed. In the German, French, and Hebrew versions, The Dictator was completely removed from the movie due to strict laws in Germany about references to the Nazi regime and to avoid insulting Israelis and Holocaust survivors after World War II. In the European Spanish dubs, The Dictator does not appear, due to the fact that the European Spanish versions used the pre-edited footage of the French dub. However, the scene is still available on the Polish versions. **The Dictator's battle against Goten and Trunks was removed when it was aired on Toonami and later Nicktoons. *In the Funimation dub, The Dictator mentions how Goten and Trunks in their Super Saiyan forms have "blond hair and blue eyes" (even though the eyes are green), and also realizing that he should be recruiting them instead of fighting them, referencing Hitler's belief in the Aryan race (which have blonde hair along with blue or green eyes). However, in the original Japanese, he only comments that they must have dyed their hair blonde (despite seeing them transforming right in front of him). *'ALERT' When Super Saiyan 3 Goku goes up into the air to blast Super Janemba, Super Gogeta kicking Super Janemba is shown in the background. *In one scene, one of the Kais refers to Veku as "what an artful dodger" as he had been avoiding Janemba's attacks by running away and farting. This is a reference to the novel Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens. One of the characters is named the Artful Dodger because he can pick people's pockets and run quickly. *In the video game Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury, the events of this movie happen after Fortuneteller Baba takes the dead Goku back to the Other World (episode 248) and after Mr. Satan meets Majin Buu (episode 252). This is even though Goku is not seen returning to Grand Kai's planet in the manga/anime after Baba brought him back to the Other World, instead being at the Sacred World of the Kai, either helping Gohan with his Z Sword training or watching the battle on Earth in a Crystal Ball while Old Kai was unlocking Gohan's hidden abilities. *Extra parts to the movie are added in the story mode of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2: Great Saiyaman and Videl fight 2 vs. 2 battles against Cui and Salza, Bojack and Zangya, Frieza and Cell (Cell did not appear in the movie), and finally Vegeta is allowed to keep his body and has a match against Goku. *The movie is retold in the Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai, with the story occurring during a time of apparent peace shortly after the battles with Majin Buu. *Since episode 241 (which is set approximately one day after the tournament), the Dragon Team still on Earth believe Gohan to be dead in the series, while in the movie they interact with him as if this is not the case. The movie occurs 9 days after the tournament, as shown on Videl's watch. *Dende explicitly stated in episode 240 that the Z Fighters would have to wait four months to use the Dragon Balls again due to Bulma and the others summoning Shenron and wishing for Vegeta's rampage to be undone. Yet, if this movie takes place a few days later, the Z Fighters on Earth should not have been able to summon Shenron. *The 22nd Shunsuke Kikuchi music package for the franchise starts here. The cues were designated "M20XX" codes, and this package would make its series debut in The Innards of Buu. Gallery References External links *[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=990 Anime News Network - Fusion Reborn] *[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0142236/ Fusion Reborn] at the Site Navigation pt-br:Dragon Ball Z: Uma Nova Fusão: Gogeta es:¡El renacer de la fusión! Goku y Vegeta Category:Films Category:Dragon Ball Z films